Signage & Bluegrass

Roger

by Margo Ragan

You may not be familiar with Roger Cook, but he has told millions of people where to go with impunity. I will explain later. To talk about Roger is to talk about vision, be it his own artistic vision as a graphic designer, which has earned him international recognition to his insights on creativity and style, or on a more personal level the vision that has prompted Roger to write a book, A Vision for My Father, which will be published this Fall.

I first met Roger in 1998 when a group of volunteers organized a family friendly, alcohol free event on New Year's Eve called First Night Newtown. Roger was an intimidating figure on the board, since we were familiar with his formidable reputation as a graphic design artist. Roger was on point with his insights. For our second year, we chose Newtown native Edward Hicks' famous painting, The Peaceable Kingdom, with the symbols of a lion and a lamb as a theme for our First Night poster. Our group assembled revelers to march down State Street when a person dressed in a lion's costume carrying a stuffed lamb arrived to lead off the parade. It wasn't until the lion laughed that we recognized staid but steady Roger in the silly costume. Our friendship was sealed from that point on.

Roger is a complex individual, brilliant, laser focused on graphic design, yet interested in nature, history, country and blue grass music—all life around him. There is a side to him that is extremely sensitive and personal that few of us are invited to see. He has been blissfully married to Peg for 62 years, and has kept every letter she has ever written to him. “In fact, Peg is the person who has encouraged me to write this book about my father, since he was such a major influence in my life. I have come to appreciate him more than ever as I went on this journey to tell him about my life,” Roger admitted.

Severe eye conditions robbed vision from his beloved father Najeeb, denying him forever from seeing Roger's artistic achievements. It is no accident that the only adornment to the cover of his book A Vision for My Father is a pair of eyeglasses. “I grew up in a very closely knit Palestinian Christian family,” said Roger. “My father Najeeb literally hopscotched around the world until he reached America in 1906. I included in my book a photograph of his passport, showing his place of birth as Palestine, and his occupation as salesman.” Once Najeeb was in the states, he worked a variety of jobs including peddler, restauranteur, lead miner, crew chief laying railroad tracks, sales, - saving every penny so that he could return to Ramallah Palestine to marry the love of his life, Jaleela.

Both parents were surprised but proud that their newly adopted country had free public education. One major incident occurred that changed the trajectory of Roger's name, and in a real sense his identity. “I was in the fourth grade,” Roger recalled, “and introduced myself to the class, I am Rajie, a name which means hope in Arabic. My teacher thought Rajie was too difficult to pronounce, and suggested that I be called Roger instead. In a flash, my birth name was changed, but my parents raised no objections in deference to the educator.”

They saw unlimited opportunities for their gifted son in one of the professions, doctor, lawyer, engineer. When Roger announced that he wanted to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn to become an artist, his parents hid their disappointment and fears for his livelihood, and gave him unconditional love and support.

For most of his adult life, Najeeb struggled with vision problems, but 1942 proved to a pivotal year. “My father had several rounds of cataract surgery and probably undiagnosed glaucoma, and his only chance for vision lay with surgery that gave little promise of success.” Roger said. “Sadly, the surgery was unsuccessful, and my father's world became one of darkness.”

At this point, Roger's story becomes very emotional in the telling. “I was a young man, consumed with creative passion about graphic design. I could create something out of nothing—designs that were important in visual language and receive worldwide recognition for my efforts. My partnership with Dan Shanosky, Cook and Shanosky, was a force to be reckoned with in the graphic design world, but my father could not see any of it,” he said.

There is a chapter in his book, “If Only,” which details the depths of Roger's emotions. He acknowledges the many events, large and small, that Najeeb was not able to fully appreciate or participate because of his blindness, and the pain he must have felt. “My father never complained, but as adult, I realize how much of my life he missed. My narrative is my homage to him and of course, to my family,” he said.

What a narrative that is, as we return to the question beginning this article. According to Roger, 1974 was a seminal year for Cook and Shanosky, They were invited to exhibit a piece of art in the American Institute of Graphic Arts “Color” presentation at the Whitney Museum in New York.

The task was challenging, the competitors impressive with their own style and creativity. Roger attracted the attention of a fellow exhibitor who encouraged Cook and Shanosky to submit a portfolio to the Department of Transportation who was anticipating an influx of tourists coming to the states to celebrate the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration.

Their mission was to create signs and symbols that could be universally understood in a visual language. “When you are in an airport and looking for a restroom, our pictograph is telling you where to go,” laughed Roger. “The most ubiquitous symbol we created has to be the “No Smoking” sign, its design is deceptively simple, direct, and clearly understood.”

The success of the Signs and Symbols project was recognized by President Ronald Reagan when in 1985 Cook and Shanosky was given the Presidential Award for Design Excellence. “There I was, the son of immigrant parents, accepting an award from the President of the United States, with Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole standing by his side,” Roger said, “and I was in the company of world renowned architect I.M. Pei, whose own work I so admire. It was an unforgettable experience. Even though my father had passed five years previous, I felt his presence and pride on that day.”

The name of the firm, Cook and Shanosky, can be found in many leading textbooks on graphic design since their designs were creatively simple yet spot on for the product message. To this day, Roger receives telephone calls and emails from students from all over the world, who want to interview him, or talk about graphic design. His influence is profound.

“When we constructed our home in Washington Crossing, we insisted on a modern, minimalist design, a home with glass walls where I could watch the wonders of birds, red tail hawks, bees,” Roger said. Bees became a focus of his interest, so much so that Roger and Peg enrolled in a beekeeping course at Delaware Valley College, thus beginning a 15-year hobby as a beekeeper of 25 beehives.

“I gave talks to school children about the importance of bees, and often helped local police departments and exterminators who needed to remove bees in a humane manner,” Roger informed. “There is much to learn about life when you study bees. A frequent question was, doesn't it hurt to be stung by a bee, and I always responded that it hurts more getting stung by a human.”

Music is another passion of Roger's. Just mention country legends Willie Nelson or Flatt and Scruggs, and Roger may just break into song, since he calls himself the Middle Eastern King of Western Swing. “The matter of talent, or lack thereof, has never been an issue. I loved and still do love to sing,” he admitted. In recent years Roger organized two very successful Bluegrass fundraisers for the Newtown Exchange Club, an organization to which he belonged for many years.

As if he wasn't busy enough with his graphic design business, Roger became interested in renovating and restoring two historic buildings in Newtown. The first project located on State Street was in such disrepair that Peg refused to walk in. “The odor of animal excrements was overwhelming and in many places, the dirt was three to four inches deep,” Roger said. That did not deter Roger at all, only making him more determined to restore the building to its historic dignity.

That experience led him to another property, The David Leedom farmhouse that is the focal point of Newtown Crossing. Once again, the building was in shambles, but the fact that Edward Hicks had once painted the farm captivated Roger, and he plunged into the restoration project with his usual vigor. “During the reconstruction, we discovered a lemon peel baseball that was probably 150 years old. When the Mercer Museum in Doylestown had an exhibit on Bucks County sports, I loaned them the baseball as it is a valuable piece of the reconstruction project,” he said.

Given the success of Cook and Shanosky, Roger and Peg began to travel around the world. Since Roger can trace his family roots back to 500 years, it was from that unique perspective that he and Peg visited the Middle East, beginning with Egypt and Jordan and ending with Palestine and Israel. That trip was the first of many that Roger took to the Middle East, sometimes with friends and family, but more often, as a member for the Philadelphia Presbytery Peacemaking Task Force Committee.

“In his youth, my father had worked as a guide for visitors touring the many holy sites of the region,” Roger explained. “He loved the stories of the Bible, and the figures of the Bible became flesh and blood humans through the force of his words. With this first visit I was seeing all the wonders of the Christian and Arabic world that had been a part of his own youth.”

Roger resumed his birth name of Rajie, and used his camera to record what he was seeing. “I have photographs of merchant lined streets in the Palestinian sector of East Jerusalem, women sitting on the ground creating traditional Palestinian cross stitching, sights that my father must have seen,” said Rajie, “but I was also seeing the pain of the Palestinian people, and I decided to use my art as a voice for those who have none.”

Rajie has become an art activist for peace in the Middle East. He has been invited to exhibit his artwork in many galleries here and abroad, and has often been asked to speak about his art. “The stories of what I have experienced (and seen) will speak in galleries, exhibits and homes. My art will be my voice long after I am gone,” he concluded.

Although Rajie is well into his eighties, he does not plan to go “gentle into that dark night.” He is usually in his studio, or woodworking shop creating a work of art. “When I was a child, I remember my father carving a bamboo stick into a flute, and I watched his hands caressing the wood” he recalled with clarity. “I understand now what he was doing and feeling. That is a gift that writing A Vision For My Father has given me.”

A Vision For My Father published by Interlink Publishing can be found in local bookstores and online at www.interlink books.com, Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

Margo Ragan is a freelance writer and lecturer at Holy Family College who lives in New Hope, PA.

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